The University of Canterbury says first-year student numbers are continuing to grow, although the total number of enrolments is slightly down on last year.
Vice-Chancellor Rod Carr said on Tuesday that just under 11,000 fulltime students from New Zealand and overseas enrolled to study this year.
Dr Carr said recent strong earthquakes have affected the number of students who return to complete four-year degrees.
However, 2712 new students have enrolled - up three percent from last year - while international numbers have risen 18 percent.
Out of 3000 universities ranked world wide, Canterbury sits within the top 200 for 16 subjects, he said.